Optical methods of determination of the water contents in cordierites

Equations of linear regression were derived for the determination of water contained in cordierites. The accuracy of measurements of refraction indices being ±0.001, the accuracy of quantitative evaluation of H₂O was ±0.13 wt %.     

Ozone Content over the Russian Federation in 2015

The review is compiled on the basis of the results provided by the system of total ozone (TO) monitoring in the CIS and Baltic countries that functions in the operational regime at the Central Aerological Observatory (CAO). The monitoring system uses data from the national network of M-124 filter ozonometers being under the methodological supervision ofthe Main Geophysical Observatory. The functioning of the entire system is under operational control based on the observations obtained from the OMI satellite equipment (NASA, USA). Basic TO observation data are generalized for each month of the fourth quarter of 2015, for the fourth quarter, and for the year as a whole. The results of regul ar observations of surface ozone content carried out in the Moscow region and Crimea are also provided.     

Field Experiments and Numerical Modeling of Wind Speed and Surface Waves in Medium-size Inland Reservoirs

An attempt is made to apply the modern methods of surface wave simulation developed for oceanic conditions to the modeling of waves in medium-size inland reservoirs (10–100 km). The results of field measurements of wind speed and waves are described, and on their basis the parameterization C _D (U ₁₀) is proposed. WAVEWATCH III spectral wave model was adapted to the conditions of a medium-size inl and reservoir. The simulated data are compared with the field data. The use of the new parameterization C _D (U ₁₀) allowed reducing the values of the wind wave growth rate that improved consistency in data from the field experiment and numerical modeling concerning the height of significant waves. Further steps towards improving the quality of prediction of the adapted WAVEWATCH III model are discussed.     

Key processes determining secondary alterations in kimberlites

A variety of hypotheses have been put forward as to the nature of secondary alteration. They were tested by using the amount of insoluble SiO₂ accumulated in the rocks (Q) as the index of secondary alteration degree. This parameter allows any sample to be characterized with the degree of its secondary alteration. By putting Q values together with contents of CaO and rare earth elements, features of diamond crystal size distributions within samples in most altered kimberlites, and the distribution of these parameters over kimberlite bodies, we show that secondary processes occurred when kimberlites were exposed to postmagmatic solutions: fluids containing water and carbon dioxide. Endogenous fluids rose from the bottom of pipes along narrow local zones and spread beyond them at the top, involving larger rock masses. There, they mingled with vadose and phreatic water. The basicity decreased abruptly, inducing profound changes of rock-forming minerals and alteration of diamond crystal weight distribution by recrystallization. The study invokes a great body of factual information, including hundreds and thousands of analyzes of kimberlites from Yakutian diamond pipes: Botuobinskaya, Nyur’inskaya, Maiskaya, Internatsional’naya, Mir, Aikhal, Yubileinaya, Sytykanskaya, Udachnaya-West, and Udachnaya-East.     

The Greenhouse Gas Absorption Potential of Russian Forests and Possibilities for Carbon Footprint Reduction for Exported Domestic Products

Doklady Earth Sciences - This paper analyzes the possibility to reduce the carbon footprint of exported products by implementing forest climate offset projects amid the introduction of the carbon...     

Approximation of the electron concentration measurements in the middle ionosphere at low solar activity

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - The set of the electron concentration (N) measurements at heights of 120–200 km have been generalized using the regression equation from the semi-empirical model...     

Adaptation of the Parameterization of the Nonlinear Energy Transfer for Short Fetch Conditions in the WAVEWATCH III Wave Prediction Model

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - The parameterization of the nonlinear energy transfer called Discrete Interaction Approximation (DIA) is optimized in the WAVEWATCH III wave model by...     

Abramovite, Pb2SnInBiS7, a new mineral species from fumaroles of the Kudryavy volcano, Kurile Islands, Russia

Abramovite, a new mineral species, has been found as fumarole crust on the Kudryavy volcano, Iturup Island, Kuriles, Russia. The mineral is associated with pyrrhotite, pyrite, würtzite, galena, halite, sylvite, and anhydrite. Abramovite occurs as tiny elongated lamellar crystals up to 1 mm long and 0.2 mm wide (average 300 × 50 μ m), which make up chaotic intergrowths in the narrow zone of fumarole crust formed at ～600°C. Most crystals are slightly striated along the elongation. The new mineral is silver gray, with a metallic luster and black streak. Under reflected light, abramovite is white with a yellowish gray hue. It has weak bireflectance; anisotropy is distinct without color effects. The chemical composition (electron microprobe) is as follows, wt %: 20.66 S, 0.98 Se, 0.01 Cu, 0.03 Cd, 11.40 In, 12.11 Sn, 37.11 Pb, 17.30 Bi; the total is 99.60. The empirical formula calculated on the basis of 12 atoms is Pb_1.92Sn_1.09In_1.06Bi_0.89(S_6.90Se_0.13)_7.03. The simplified formula is Pb₂SnInBiS₇. The strongest eight lines in the X-ray powder pattern [d, Å (I)(hkl)] are 5.90(36)(100), 3.90(100)(111), 3.84(71)(112), 3.166(26)(114), 2.921(33)(115), 2.902(16)(200), 2.329(15)(214), 2.186(18)(125). The selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns of abramovite are quite similar to those of the homologous cylindrite series minerals. The new mineral is characterized by noncommensurate structure composed of regularly alternated pseudotetragonal and pseudohexagonal sheets. The structure parameters determined from the SAED patterns and X-ray powder diffraction data for pseudotetragonal subcell are: a = 23.4(3), b = 5.77(2), c = 5.83(1) Å, α = 89.1(5) °, β = 89.9(7)°, γ = 91.5(7)°, V = 790(8) ų; for pseudohexagonal subcell: a = 23.6(3), b = 3.6(1), c = 6.2(1) Å, α = 91(2)°, β = 92(1)°, γ = 90(2)°, V = 532(10) ų. Abramovite is triclinic, space group P(1). The new mineral is named in honor of Russian mineralogist Dmitry Abramov. The type material of abramovite has been deposited in the Fersman Mineralogical Museum, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow.     

Model description of electron concentration in the middle ionosphere

The results of comparison of model calculations of the electron concentration N at ionospheric heights of 120–200 km to the experimental data obtained at a series of geographic points at various levels of solar activity in various seasons of the year in quiet and disturbed conditions are presented and discussed. The calculations are performed using the semiempirical model (SEM) developed by the authors and giving in a general form the relation of N to characteristics of the thermospheric neutral gas and the solar activity index. The data presented in the paper show that the calculations with the SEM in question in the majority of cases agree well with experiment (the difference between them is 10–20%). The authors believe that the results of the comparative analysis presented in the paper manifest a high degree of universality of the discussed SEM.     

A new body of highly diamondiferous kimberlites in the Nakyn field of the Yakutian kimberlite province

We report the first data on the contents of main oxides and REE in rocks and the compositions of pyropes and almandines from the Maiskoe kimberlite body recently discovered in the Nakyn field of the Yakutian kimberlite province.The kimberlites are characterized by low contents of Ti, a slight domination of Mg over Ca, and high contents of K₂O in some samples. The pyropes have high contents of Cr₂O₃ (up to 14.5 wt.%); many of them (～16%) are poor in Ca. In petrochemical and mineralogical features the kimberlites of the Maiskoe body are complementary to the highly diamondiferous kimberlites of the nearby Botuobinskaya and Nyurbinskaya pipes. At the same time, they are not the final link in the evolution of kimberlite magmatism in the Nakyn field, which makes the latter still more promising for diamonds.